Are cruises a good investment?

I know they are. Because I have four RCL and one Carnival cruise booked between now and March, 2016. And in each case I have already made a good return by booking early and special sales. For this December from Baltimore, we booked a junior suite (our first) on the Grandeur of the Seas. It's now going for nearly double of what we paid.

But in order to truly take advantage of all this, I need to buy 100 shares of RCL stock so that I can get the line's generous stockholders' OBCs. I once bought it at $37 and then, thinking it wasn't moving, sold it. I'm now looking for an opportunity to buy on a dip. Perhaps $53, unless there is a promise of it going lower. So far that opportunity hasn't materialized.

Obviously, others too have found cruises to be good investments.

A cruise, or any travel, is a good investment in broadening your knowledge of the world. Travel of any kind is a good investment in ourselves and helps us to grow at any age.

I don't consider the money spent a financial investment, but it is money allocated for travel.

Cruises are great value for money especially if you look at accessing some of the worlds most remote coastal places

Shares can be a benefit as they seem to be a well managed and growing stable financially business

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A cruise isn't an investment. Not in the financial sense, anyway.

You buy an investment hoping it goes up in value and you can sell it for more than you paid. A cruise is an expense and it doesn't go up in value. You spend money and get enjoyment in return.

A cruise isn't an investment. Not in the financial sense, anyway.

 

You buy an investment hoping it goes up in value and you can sell it for more than you paid. A cruise is an expense and it doesn't go up in value. You spend money and get enjoyment in return.

You are right on the "money" sir!

Now, is RCI stock a good investment? I would say NO. She's essentially at an all time high, and I see this market bubble bursting.

Stockholders' OBC is not always the best deal to take - sometimes a coupon, balcony discount or other discount gives you more $$ than the stockholders' OBC.

Also - if you are buying 100 shares at $50, it is going to take you a long time to get enough OBC to justify that $5,000 expense since the most you can get is $250 per 14 day cruise. We do own RCL stock but bought it maybe 20 years ago. Back then we could get the stockholder OBC in addition to other offers so it was really worth it to own it.

Marianne

I don't consider getting a good deal an investment.

I consider Carnival stock a good investment for me because I cruise Princess quite a bit.

Royal and NCL are not so good because they don't let you combine your OBC like CCL does.

The cruises themselves can be a good investment in personal satisfaction and relaxation. Cheaper than a "shrink" !!! lol

Stockholders' OBC is not always the best deal to take - sometimes a coupon, balcony discount or other discount gives you more $$ than the stockholders' OBC.

 

Also - if you are buying 100 shares at $50, it is going to take you a long time to get enough OBC to justify that $5,000 expense since the most you can get is $250 per 14 day cruise. We do own RCL stock but bought it maybe 20 years ago. Back then we could get the stockholder OBC in addition to other offers so it was really worth it to own it.

 

Marianne

Must dependon the corporation. On HAL, Princess and Carnival we can use CCL shareholder OBC in addition to any other discount or qualifying rate.

On our upcoming Carnival Miracle Hawaii cruise we are have book-onboard OBC, Milestone OBC and CCL shareholder OBC. IIRC we booked under a Past Guest rate.

Booking early was a wise decision, but not really an investment - unless you would view going to a movie or visiting a museum also investments as they contribute to your overall experience.

Now, if your cruise line allowed you to sell your passage to someone else at today's price, I would then consider it an investment.

A cruise isn't an investment. Not in the financial sense, anyway.

 

You buy an investment hoping it goes up in value and you can sell it for more than you paid. A cruise is an expense and it doesn't go up in value. You spend money and get enjoyment in return.

Yes! That's exactly what I was thinking.

Cruises can be a good value, but they're hardly an investment. While I certainly understand what the OP was trying to say (and I agree that cruises can be an excellent vacation value), it scares me a little bit when people think this is how an investment works.

A cruise, or any travel, is a good investment in broadening your knowledge of the world. Travel of any kind is a good investment in ourselves and helps us to grow at any age.

 

I don't consider the money spent a financial investment, but it is money allocated for travel.

Agreed. It's an investment in broadening my knowledge, reducing stress, making life long memories and rewarding myself for my hard work.

You can't take it with you.

Now, if your cruise line allowed you to sell your passage to someone else at today's price, I would then consider it an investment.

Exactly my reaction when I saw the thread title. An investment is something you acquire at one price and then liquidate at a higher one.

Now if you would have asked "Are cruises a good value?" I imagine most responses would be in agreement. But let's examine your concept of "good return" through booking early and special sales.

If you paid $2000 for your cabin and had $500 OBC, I presume you would net $2500 worth of enjoyment in your cruise. This of course depends on your cumulative shareholder OBC having exceeded the cost (less any appreciation) of your shares. And if your neighbors in an identical cabin paid $3000 and got no OBC, do you then feel as if your cruise is worth $3500--or $4000 taking into account the missed OBC that others failed to receive? (So is this how you determine your "good return?")

Also, you must always take into consideration the time value of money. Well, I don't have to as the large majority of my cruises this millennium have been booked after final payment date: I pay what I pay and receive my straight-up "return" within two months or less. But if you have hundreds of dollars in deposits tied up for 12 to 18 months or more, that is money that could otherwise be earning a more tangible return than future vacation fun. And the reduced deposit you earn by buying FCCs is a smokescreen: if you buy one for $100 onboard but don't use it for two years, the real future value of that $100 is probably higher than the non-reduced deposit amount.

So is "return on investment" a fair way to judge how one enjoys their cruise? Bottom line for me is if I see a price I like, I book it. And by the time I board I have long stopped thinking about it--and I don't pay any attention to onboard spend until I get the bill. And as long as I have come hope happy, I pay my credit card without a second thought.

Must dependon the corporation. On HAL, Princess and Carnival we can use CCL shareholder OBC in addition to any other discount or qualifying rate.

On our upcoming Carnival Miracle Hawaii cruise we are have book-onboard OBC, Milestone OBC and CCL shareholder OBC. IIRC we booked under a Past Guest rate.

You are right - as I said, Royal Caribbean used to allow combining of OBCs. We used to book a cruise onboard to get that OBC and then also use our stockholder OBC. Sadly a few years ago they stopped it. I now have to be careful to let our TA know that we are using the stockholder OBC since she recently used a coupon to reduce our cruise fare not realizing we were entitled to a higher amount of stockholder OBC. The coupon cancelled out the OBC but luckily the difference was not that great.

Marianne

rci STOCK IS not A GOOD INVESTMENT IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR STOCKHOLDER CREDITS. rci DOES nOT ALLOW YOU TO COMBINE CREDITS ON MOST CRUISES.

I know they are. Because I have four RCL and one Carnival cruise booked between now and March, 2016. And in each case I have already made a good return by booking early and special sales.

 

Obviously, others too have found cruises to be good investments.

Of course a "paper profit" can evaporate by the time an investment is liquidated. What would you say your "investment return" would be if, on each of your cruises the price plummeted between final payment and sailing date - leaving you with having paid much more for the same accommodations than someone who booked a week before sailing?

We had two 14 day cruises booked when we heard about the RCI shareholder plan. We called to confirm we could get the two $250 credits before buying 100 shares. Within three months the stock had increased, paid a dividend and combined with the $500 OBC produced a 41% return. Now, two years later we have gotten many additional credits and the stock alone has produced an 81% return. I certainly hope this pattern continues.